Halloween isn't just for kids. Especially when it comes to music. Of course, for some, Halloween means dancing, with old favorites like "Monster Mash" or Michael Jackson's "Thriller."
But when it comes to truly scary music, people keep coming back to classical music. It has stood the test of time and scared more people than we can imagine.
So, for this Halloween season, we take a closer look at something really scary.
These pieces may not be in the order you'd place them.
So work with me, people.
1. O Fortuna Imperatrix Mundi from Carl Orff's "Carmina Burana"
Just count the number of scary movies that have employed this work about luck and you might be convinced that it's spine-tingling.
Never mind that it's based on texts by a bunch of monks.
It was used in 1994's "Natural Born Killers" and while it wasn't actually used in the creepy, "The Omen," so many people think it was, that it sometimes ends up on "The Omen" soundtracks.
2. Music from the shower scene in "Psycho"
Alfred Hitchcock was not only the master of suspense. He knew that what you don't see is actually more bone-chilling than what you do see. So while the unsuspecting lone female hotel guest meets her doom, you don't really see anything graphic. And the screeching violin music that Bernard Hermann wrote is enough to keep you up at night.
3. Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D minor
What would Halloween be without organ music? And perhaps the organ piece most tied to All Hallow's Eve is this one by a man who wrote music "for the glory of God." But I have to say, even the score looks scary.
4. John Williams "Jaws" theme
Okay, raise your hand if you saw "Jaws" in the movie theaters when it first came out and it kept you away from the beach for at least a year? Guilty right here. Make that two years. The music was actually inspired by the fourth movement of Dvorak's, "Symphony No. 9, 'from the New World.'" According to the documentary about the drawn-out and disastrous making of that movie, it's a good thing the music created the suspense. Because the mechanical shark was broken. A lot.
5. "The Sorcerer's Apprentice" by Paul Dukas
So, it's not scary, but who hasn't been afraid of moving brooms? This piece owes its fame to its inclusion in Disney's original "Fantasia." And the star of the vignette that features it, is none other than Mickey Mouse. How can you go wrong? Walt Disney did the right thing in getting help from conductor Leopold Stokowski and composer Deems Taylor in selecting the music for that 1940 release.
Which songs would you put in your top five? Let us know with the "Talk to us" feature in the Classical WSMR app. That ought to be really scary!
WSMR's Kristi Stanichar will be programming some great music for Halloween. So be sure to listen for that on Oct. 31.
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